I don't know what they were going for, but they missed the mark by about a lightyear.
Let's look at this headline:
Remember a decade ago when The Gospel Coalition was actually relevant?
This is honestly the first article in 4 or so years that I've actually read from them, and it's only because it's so bad.
In their attempt to remain relevant to the world, they became more irrelevant than dirt. Talk about salt losing its saltiness!
Anyway, here's a passage from this gem:
This is a picture of the gospel. Christ arrives in salvation to be not only with his church but within his church. Christ gives himself to his beloved with extravagant generosity, showering his love upon us and imparting his very presence within us. Christ penetrates his church with the generative seed of his Word and the life-giving presence of his Spirit, which takes root within her and grows to bring new life into the world.
Please make it stop.
Maranatha, Lord Jesus.
Inversely, back in the wedding suite, the bride embraces her most intimate guest on the threshold of her dwelling place and welcomes him into the sanctuary of her very self. She gladly receives the warmth of his presence and accepts the sacrificial offering he bestows upon the altar within her Most Holy Place.
Someone was paid to write this.
By one of the premier evangelical publications of the 21st century.
At an apologetics center named after Pastor Tim Keller that's supposed to tell us all how to reach the culture.
But it gets worse:
Similarly, the church embraces Christ in salvation, celebrating his arrival with joy and delight. She has prepared and made herself ready, anticipating his advent in eager anticipation. She welcomes him into the most vulnerable place of her being, lavishing herself upon him with extravagant hospitality. She receives his generous gift within her — the seed of his Word and presence of his Spirit — partnering with him to bring children of God into the world.
We are torturing out metaphors here to new levels, eroticizing the Word of God in the pursuit of relevance.
- It's great to remember that the Church is called Christ's Bride.
- It's important to understand that God made sex, that within His boundaries it is good, and that it leads to the multiplication of life in loving union.
- Many of the ordinary things in our lives, from marriage to sex to parenting, teach us deeper truth's about God's design and character.
